Fairfield-based insurer Cincinnati Financial lowered its stake in downtown-based P&G from about 1.5 million shares as of Dec. 31 to 1.1 million shares by the end of March, according to its stock portfolio listing it discloses to shareholders each quarter.

Like many insurers, Cincinnati Financial owns stocks as part of its investment portfolio to get a return on money it brings in from premiums. Cincinnati Financial owns more stocks in its portfolio than most insurers, which tend to stick mostly with bonds.

"We may increase or decrease a holding for reasons that have more to do with overall portfolio management than with the merits of the stock," Cincinnati Financial Chief Investment Officer Marty Hollenbeck said in a statement. The company has said it owns shares with an eye on generating income through dividends.

P&G is one of the steadiest dividend payers around. It has increased its dividend for 57 straight years and pays a 3.1 percent yield on its current stock price.

But P&G recently raised its dividend just 7 percent. Cincinnati Financial bought new stakes during the quarter in Apple Inc., which recently hiked its dividend 15 percent, and Philip Morris International, which yields 3.7 percent.

P&G’s stock jumped in late January from about $70 to around $75 after it posted quarterly earnings. It kept climbing and hit an all-time high of near $78 late in the quarter. It since topped $82 before settling back. It was off 22 cents to $77.53 in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday.